ersatz

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈɛrˌzɑts/ UK /ˈɛːzæts/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
made or used as an inferior substitute or imitation

During the war they brewed ersatz coffee from roasted barley.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · made or used as an inferior... artificial synthetic imitation substitute fake bogus sham

Opposites

genuine authentic real natural

Simplified etymology

Ersatz was borrowed from German in the late 19th century. In English it came to denote a substitute, especially one regarded as inferior to the genuine article.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Ersatz 'substitute, replacement', from ersetzen 'to replace, compensate', from setzen 'to set, place'.

Ersatz German

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# ersatz

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈɛrˌzɑts/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɛːzæts/

## Meanings
1. made or used as an inferior substitute or imitation

## Examples
- During the war they brewed ersatz coffee from roasted barley.

## Synonyms
- artificial
- synthetic
- imitation
- substitute
- fake
- bogus
- sham

## Antonyms
- genuine
- authentic
- real
- natural

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: Ersatz

## Etymology
Borrowed from German Ersatz 'substitute, replacement', from ersetzen 'to replace, compensate', from setzen 'to set, place'.

## AI Etymology
Ersatz is traced as follows: Borrowed from German Ersatz 'substitute, replacement', from ersetzen 'to replace, compensate', from setzen 'to set, place'. The development is chiefly a borrowing or learned continuation, carrying an older form and meaning into English rather than building the word from a purely native base. In present use, it is used as a adjective and noun meaning "made or used as an inferior substitute or imitation", so the historical material remains connected with the current sense rather than standing as bare ancestry. The named historical forms include German Ersatz, keeping the history tied to concrete forms rather than a loose resemblance. Its semantic neighborhood is marked by artificial, synthetic, imitation, and substitute on one side and contrasts such as genuine, authentic, and real on the other, locating the modern specialization without adding a new origin story.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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